Email marketing has two different portions to the module, email subscriber lists and email marketing categories.
These two sections work in conjunction with each other when sending out email marketing campaigns to subscribers.
(Frontend vs. Administrative Interface)
On the front end, (manage subscription URL) this is where customers are able to opt in and or out of email marketing categories.
Only end users can opt into or out of email marketing categories. Staff cannot override the users' selections or make selections for them. This restriction is in place to ensure compliance with email subscription policies.
If a user is not opted into an email marketing category that user will not receive emails sent from the email marketing Campaigns that are associated with that Category. This is true even if the user's email address is included a recipient Group.
In the admin interface for email marketing, we can create subscriber Lists and have email marketing Categories associated with these created lists to send emails to specific groups of opted-in users.
Email Marketing Subscriber Lists:
The email marketing lists are what (Admins) on the admin interface can edit and change for all subscribers located in the subscriber's tab.
Subscribers can be on multiple email marketing lists that are sent on one campaign, freedom will not duplicate emails to these users. Freedom instead sends one email if users are present on multiple lists.
Categories:
Within the email marketing module, categories are used when sending out email marketing campaigns.
Categories are not subscriptions, they are more like rules. They dictate whether Campaigns associated with a Category can/cannot be sent to a contact. For example, a contact that is opted into the "General" Category will only be included if they are also included in the Subscriber List selections. If a contact is opted out of the Category they will not receive the Campaign, even if they are included in the Subscriber List.
Deliverability Issues:
What is important to note is that users may be opted into lists on the admin interface, but are not receiving emails based on three factors.
- Users have not opted into the category that these lists are being associated with on send.
- The users outside of the site have flagged the email as spam or blocked them. (The end users Mail Provider such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc...)
- The user is opted into the category but is not on the email marketing list that is being sent with the campaign.